THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 




EXPOSITION 



OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

OF 

ST. joihst. 



BY THE 



REV. S. L. COUSINS, B. A. 

RETIRED CHAPLAIN, K. N\ 



He that hath an earj let him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches."— Rev. ii 



DENISON, TEXAS: 

PRINTED AT MURRAY'S STEAM PRINTING HOUSE 

1886. 






ERRATA. 

Page 10, line 3— For xxv read xxiv. 
Page 11, line 9— For spirits read spirit's 
Page n, line 26— For Job «read Job i. 
Page 11, line 39— For tell read fell. 
Page 16, line 26— For kind read king. 

The reader will please accent the first syllable of -omega' 
the o is long, the e is short. 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 



AN EXPOSITION 



OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

OF 

ST- JOIKIDT- 



-BY THE 

REV. S. L. COUSINS, B. A, 

RETIRED CHAPLAIN, R. N. 



He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches."— Rev. ii. 




DENISON, TEXAS: 

PRINTED AT MURRAY'S STEAM PRINTING HOUSE. 

1886. 






ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1886, 

By REV. S. L. COUSINS, A. B., 

IN THE OFFICE OF LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON. 






c^-t^- ^^ 



? 



<r 



°j - 

PREFACE, 



In the revelation of S. John, the Lord Jesus announces him- 
self three times under a new name (chap. i. 8 ; xxi. 6 ; xxii. 12, 13), 
each time in close connection with his second coming, which forms 
the main subject of the Book. 

The name is Alpha, Omega. These letters are the Greek 
numerals for 1,800 as in use at that time, thus: a w- (See Bagster's 
Greek Lexicon for the New Testament, where'the letters are act- 
ually used so. for date, on the title-page.) 

Is this accidental, or designed? Few points are accidental in 
the language our Lord made use of. He understood fully the 
terms he used, in all their bearings. 

If designed as a note of time, the expression would lead us to 
look for his second coming in 1800 periods of time counted from 
that date, a. d. 96. 

These periods cannot be months, days, or any lesser ones, for 
all such limits haye been passed long since. It is not supposable 
that they can be centuries, for the word of God nowhere seems to 
supply particulars of such extended periods as thousands of cen- 
turies, either in the past or future. But years are a very usual 
measure of time in prophecy. 

If, then, the expression, ".Alpha, Omega," was designed as 
a note of the time of our Lord's second comir%, it most probably 
means 1800 years from A. d. 96, that is, a. d. 1896 — really 1900 
years from the Nativity, 4 b. c. 

This view is confirmed when we examine the contents of the 
twofold record (written within and without: Rev. v. 1) symbolised 
under the seven seals and seven trumpets, which follow the open- 
ing of the Book by the Lamb.* Here we find the prophetic his- 
tory of six periods (before the final seventh) admitted generally, if 
anything is, to be those between the date of S. John's revelation 
and the second coming of Christ. 

Now the events, to which these symbols are usually referred 
fit, with exactness, into six periods of 300 years each, forming an 

* It was then the Lamb took the Book from the Father's hand; this seems to meet a 
common objection to this investigation, drawn from Acts i, 7. and like passages. 



t^t^r lSo °y^ rs -^7' a »* Does not "Alpha, Omega" 
duration? 7 be S lnni "g and end" of this^ interval-its 

That the time of our Lord's second coming is indicated in this 
prophetical book becomes still more probable when we examine 

tin y T , e e SeVeD , epiS I leS t0 ? e Churc "es; 'hey form the introduc- 
tion. It seems clear to me that each epistle contains a reference to 
the events of a distinct thousand-year period, or Millennium, in the 
tllrJ v. a™ !' ace '. thus dividin g ^ into seven periods of ,,ooo 
been no a ticed a ' reVleW1 ^ the wh °le-I am not aware that this has 

, n A ^t Tbe ^^ to Ep hesus suggests Paradise, the tree of life, 
and, of course, Adam's era. 

2. That to Smyrna is resonant of death (vs. 8. 10. n ") the 
prison and suffering So the deluge, when "all flesh died that 
moved upon the earth," occurred in the second millennium, B. c 
234S ; and see 1 Pet. ni, 19. 20. 

3. That to Pergamos alludes to the Hebrew wanderings in the 
fnH hV fl ,a t am /" d Balac the manna, the stones in the ephod 
and breastplate of Aaron (Exod. xxviii), while "the sword" of 
v. 12. may glance at the wars of Joshua and the Judges. All these 
toTo o PerS *° nS g '° tHe thh ' d millenQiu ™' aE out B. c. 1490 

4- The epistle to Thyatira mentions Jezebel and her idolatry ■ 
power over the nations and rule" (vs. 26. 27.) seem to recal the 

of fiT Ve H r'T" of S° ,01 r n < 2 Chron - ix > 26 ->, and the flame 
ZH ? and fine . brass ° f , v - '8. suggest the sacrifices, the altar and 

the foiinh ,, '""P ^ (2 Chn *•> NoW > a11 t^se fall within 
the fourth millennium, from b. c. iooo. 

^J' T , ba i t0 S Z diS iS - fu11 ° f the teachi "^ of Christ, in his own 
words, of the white raiment, of the Spirit and the churches 
(en. 111 1.) and the angels. All the events alluded to the Nativity 
life and atonement of Christ, the day of Pentecost and its results! 
occurred early in the fifth millennium.-Sardis, as is fit, was chief 
city of Lydia, the province containing five of the cities addressed, 
only Fergamos and Laodicea lying outside its bounds. 

6. That to Philadelphia opens with the declaration that Christ 
retains in his own hand the key of David, L e., David's stronghold, 
Zion (''come unto Me"), however He may have conveyed to His 
church disciplinary powers for self-government, for exclusion as for 
admission, which, when faithfully exercised, He will surely ratify. 

Now it was in the sixth millennium (i. c, from a. d. iooo) 
that he most daring pretence was made of wresting from His hand 
that key, by setting between Christ and the sinner a human author- 
in : y ^^z^y^ys^^z sfe'^Ki?^^ is treated > ,nore ^ 



PREFACE. 5 

ity, supreme and absolute, as Christ's vicegerent on earth. Is it 
not a striking fact that at the middle of this millennium (a. d. 15 17) 
the ambition and the needs of the Papacy, culminating in the sale 
of Indulgences, shook Christendom to its centre, and reft it into frag- 
ments, alas! all too many? We also find, at the end, mention of 
''the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, and my 
new name." This, though still future, may presumably fall within 
the sixth millenium. May we heed the solemn, the repeated re- 
frain: "He that hath an ear, &c !" 

7. The epistle to Laodicea speaks of a supper of Christ with 
His people, and of His throne, of the gold, and the white raiment, 
and of a state of lukewarmness and spiritual blindness prevailing, 
probably, in the margin period of the sixth and seventh millennium. 

Such an Introduction as these epistles (if I rightly conceive 
their purport,) may well prepare us for a note of the time of the end. 

"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you," I 
may ask, that the time of the second Advent should be discoverable 
in the New Testament, when the time of the first Advent was 
clearly predicted in the Old ? We find holy Simeon and Anna 
waiting for the consolation of Israel, looking for redemption, count- 
ing the weeks of Daniel with their friends, at His first coming, and 
shall it be called presumptuous, or idle, to watch and listen for His 
footfall now? I have been met with the objection from Acts i, 7., 
but I think Rev. v, 7. and 9. fully meets it. 

Some will doubtless condemn with faint praise, and declare 
that the Troubadour's lay ll e bene trovato, si non e vero" but I 
expect that others will find here reason as well as rhyme, and deem 
the suggestion a probable one. Now, "to us," says Bp. Butler, 
"probability is the very guide of life." 

(See Introduction to the Analogy.) 

S. L. C. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



A few words on the origin and the design of the verses here 
submitted to the public. 

Early in the past month, March, I was led into this line of 
thought by noticing that as the fifth note of the musical scale, or 
dominant, is harmony to all, so Christ, Incarnate in the fifth period 
(iooo years), pervades and harmonizes all the history of our race. 
My violin is tuned in fifths, and each open string is dominant of 
the key whose tonic is the open string below it. This may be 
shown on the piano, etc., while the bag-pipes are a standing illus- 
tration of the fact. I then noticed in Bagster's Greek Lexicon of 
the New Testament that the letters alpha, omega, are numerals for 
i, 800. Applying this number to the seven seals and trumpets of 
S. John, as usually interpreted, I found the correspondence even 
startling. Drawing it out in a skeleton plan, I showed it to some 
friends, lettered and unlettered, and found they were struck by it, 
too. On the 17th (better day, better deed,) I spent a few pleasant 
hours over it with a Reverend friend. "Why," said he, "you 
have material for a volume here!" The saying took hold of me, 
and I have since developed the idea into the shape herewith sub- 
mitted. 

I will be glad to learn what the Church in its widest sense 
thinks of it. To me, it is full of "sweetness and light." I feel 
but one little twinge of apprehension about it. I would not wil- 
lingly offend the religious convictions of any one, least of all, my 
R. C. friends and fellow countrymen. With Paul I can say, "my 
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be 
saved." With my old nurse, I may say to them, truly, "M'anam 
isthighoo!"* I mean not to insult their religion (as the phrase 
is), their religion is S. John's and mine, so far as it is Christ's, and 
Catholic. 

Excrescences are no part of the body. And the excesses, into 
which the ambition of a Italian aristocracy led the Papacy, at times, 

* "My inmost soul you are I" 



INTRODUCTORY. *J 

are deplored by Roman Catholic historians (see Fleury) and by a 
majority of that communion, I feel sure — 

"I war not, friends, with you." 

S. LESLIE COUSINS, B. A. 

Retired Chaplain, R. N. 



[It would be ungracious to omit the very courteous note from 
the able pen of Mr. Byrne, himself a graduate of Princeton Uni- 
versity, New Jersey, on the appearance of the first part in a Texan 
Journal. Rubesco ref evens /] 

•'Note. — The writer of the following poem is a polished 
scholar, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. In his leisure 
moments he wrote these verses which we consider in many essen- 
tials fully equal to anything by Edwin Arnold. There is a great 
deal of deep scholarship and biblical lore contained in the compo- 
sition. As a study for the curious, it will well repay perusal. It 
is given as a theory, which one can accept or reject as to them 
seems best. — Editor " 







7 Periods of 300 years under 










Notation. 








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1000 ye 


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5, 6, 7, of the above. 












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open book warns of approaching end; two witnesses; earthquake. 



1 ?J ; angel with 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA 



T?e^. J, ^. S. 

''Behold, He comes with clouds! and every eye 

Shall see him — they who pierced His hands and feet, 

And all the tribes of earth shall mourn, for Him. 

The Alpha and the Omega I AM.f 

Who is, who was, who comes — the Almighty One, 

Ho on, ho eu, hai lio erchomenos, 

Ho fiantocrator — thus sayeth the Lord!" 

This was the burden of the word that came 
To the much loved disciple, as he dwelt, 
An aged exile, in lone Patmos' isle, 
Pondering often, as he paced its cliffs, 
On promises, on doubts, on hopes and fears, 
If the dear Lord His coming would delay 
Or should he tarry till his Master came.* *John xxi, 23. 

Yes, faithful servant! loving heart, thy Lord 
Comes to thee now, and tells thee of the Time — 

Did not erchomenos bring to his mind 
The promise of His coming? Was he led 

To "know the mystery 1 ' thus, a parable to others?* *Mat.xiii,ip,ii, 

In Alpha, Omega, (Greek numerals known,) 
One thousand and eight hundred stand revealed, 
In "on" he heard the seventh J vowel sound, 
In "e//," the seventh letter takes its place, 
While fiantoaator stamps the Almighty's name, 
And ends on the a. o. as He began. 

As the six work-days of creation passed, 
The seventh a Sabbath stood, a day of rest. 
So the seventh period, of one thousand years, 
From Adam's day, should dawn a Sabbath, too, 
And Christ (Emmanuel § once, but Eli then) should come 
In exaltation — (in the fifth he came 
In meekness, in humiliation,) this the key 
To all the sevens that through the Vision throng. 

And eighteen centuries should wing their flight 
Over Time's dial, from John's rapturous day, 
Ere the great Alpha Omega should come. 

One century had passed since Jesus lay, 
At the fifth period's dawn, in Bethlehem's shed, 

f "Arche kai telos," beginning and end, is entirely rejected from this verse by Gries 
bach and by the Revised Version. It was probably copied into the margin, without articles, 
from ch. 21,6. 

\ See Table of Harmonies. § See Table of Harmonies. 



10 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 



One century more were wanting at the endf 
Of the sixth thousand — said He not before 
*Mat. xxv, 22. When speaking of His coming, that those days* 

For the elect one's sake, should shortened be? 
And thus, while all the periods of the strain 
Move rhythmic, like the planets' paths on high, 
Harmonious, as the intervals that bridge 
Sweet Music's tones, and certain as the law 
Of sound's vibrations, J lo! the Bridegroom comes, 
And Jesus is the Dominant through all! 

Along the path of Time, the Conqueror's tread 
Is marked by melodies divine — He moves 
To music! — they whose listening ears, 
Devout, are quick to catch Heaven's harmonies 
As they review the plan, from firm foundation 
To laying of the headmost cornerstone, 
May hear the morning stars together sing, 
*Job xxxviii, 7. And all the sons of God shouting for joy! * 

All spirit wrap't, the lonely prophet mused 
One Lord's Day, when a voice, like trumpet tone, 
Cried: "I am Alpha Omega I the first 
The last, and. what thou seest, write 
To the seven churches that in Asia dwell." 
He turned to see the voice, and he beheld 
Seven lamps, and standing in their midst, appeared 
One Hke the Son of man, with zone of gold — 
John\new the form! — that sacred bosom where 
One solemn night he laid his happy head.* 
He knew those lips, whence Wisdom's honey dropped 
Or stern reproof, knew the expressive eye 
Whose mild beam lit the weeping penitent 
Along the narrow way. "Go sin no more!" 
That drew the little children to his feet, 
Or, kindling in a scorn divine, could drive 
The money changers from the Temple's courts,* 
Or dash false Judas' band* prone to the ground. 
The seer beheld — 'twas like the Son of man! 
No more the Man of sorrows, for the brow 
Once crowned with thorns, now shone like noonday sun! 
The nail-pierced feet flashed like Colossus' brass, 
His voice was as the sound of many waters, 
Niagara's boom, or Ocean's hollow roar 
Upon a rocky beach. His right hand held 
Seven stars, a two-edged sword gleamed from his mouth! 
Prostrate the way-worn exile falls, as dead! 
*i John, i, 1. The right hand he* "had handled" reaches him 

With kindly touch. "Fear not," his master says, 
"I am thy risen Lord! I hold Death's key." 
Then bids him write the things that he had seen, 
The things that are and those that shall be, after. 
The seven lamps are churches, and the stars 
Their seven angels. This their mystery. 

As suggestive Overture may prelude Oratorio's strains, 
Seven epistles hint the drama of the Church's toils and gains. 

f The date of St. John's vision is a. d. 96, reallv 100 years from the Incarnation. If we 
count 1S00 from this, we are brought to a. d. 1896, or 1900 from the Incarnation. 

X If the Tonic of a scale vibrate 12, the Dominant's vibrations will be 18 in the same 
time, and the Octave's 24. 



*John xxi, 20. 



*John ii, 15. 
*Johnxviii,6. 






THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 



II 



Chapter II. 

Obedient, his full heart indites, 
And thus the loved disciple writes: 

FIRST MILLENNIUM, B.C. 4OOO TO 3OOO. 

First, Ephesus he gently cheers, 
Lauds her patience, marks her tears, 
Bids her 'lest she forfeit all, 
Think on, and retrieve her Fall.* 
Whoso hath the hearing ear, 
Let him the spirits message hear! 
"He that conquers in the strife 
Shall eat from off the Tree of Life,* 
Blooming on, 'neath summer skies, 
In the midst of Paradise." 



*Gen. iii. b. c. 

4000. 



*Gen. iii. B. C. 
4000. 



SECOND MILLENNIUM, B. C. 3OOO TO 2000. 

To Smyrna, second, writes the Seer 

Boding trials, prisons* near, *i Pet. iii, 19. 20. 

Would ye win the crown of Life? 

Unto death* maintain the strife! *Gen.vii,2i. 

Whoso hath the hearing ear, B - c - 2 34 8 - 

Let him the Spirits message hear! 

"He that conquers shall," he saith, 
"Ne'er be hurt of second Death." * *Gen. vii,2i. 

B. C. 2348. 
THIRD MILLENNIUM, B.C. 2000 TO IOOO. 

Unto Pergamos, the third, # 

Writes the servant of the Lord, 

Praises their fidelity 

'Gainst all Satan's subtlety.* *j Q b ii, 7. 9. 

Points to Balaam's, Balak's sin,** b.c. 1520. 

Be pure in faith! be pure within! **Num. xxiii, 1. 

Whoso hath the hearing ear 

Let him the Spirit's message hear! 

"To him that conquers, his dear Lord 
Hidden manna shall award* *Exod. xvi, 15. 

A white stone too, with that new Name* *Ex. xxviii, 12. 

None kuow, save 'tis given them!" B - c - I 49 I « 



FOURTH MILLENNIUM, B. C. IOOO TO I 

To Thyatira, fourth, writes he, 
Lauds their works, their charity, 
Warns them against Jezebel* 
Her falsehoods, and her teachings iell 
The Searcher of all hearts, he saith, 
Will visit her and hers with Death! 
Yet bids he those who have not gone 
All her lengths, who have not known 
The depth's of Satan's dark domain, 
Their ancient Faith fast to maintain, 

"They that conquer, that contend 
For their Master to the end, 



*i Kings xix, i. 
B. C. 906. 



12 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 



♦Solomon. B. c. 
iooo. 2 Chron. 
be, 26. 



*Rev. i, 20. 



*Mat. xxiv, 42. 
So- 



*ioth century? 
Kcv. xxi,2. io. 



*ioth century? 
Rev. xxi, 2. io. 



Rule o'er nations shall obtain,* 
With their master they shall reign, 
They shall have the morning star,} 
Heralding the dawn afar!" 

Whoso hath the hearing ear 
The Spirit's message let him hear! 

Cli«x>ter III. 

FIFTH MILLENNIUM, A. D. I TO IOOO. 

Fifth, to Sardis' regal city, X 
Chief of Crcesus' Kingdom, writ he, 
He that hath the Spirits seven § 
Of the thrice Holy God of Heaven, 
Whose hands the seven stars uphold* 
Bids Sardis keep His words of old, 
Bids her watch well, lest he might, 
Like a thief, come in the night,* 
Those who watch not, shall not learn 
When their Master will return! 

"He that conquers in the fight 
Shall be clothed in raiment white, || 
Who of Jesus shews not shame, 
Jesus will confess his name 
Before His Father, and the bands 
Of angels, waiting His commands. "^ 

Whoso hath a hearing ear 
The Spirit's message let him hear! 

SIXTH MILLENIUM, A. D. IOOO. 

Sixth, to Philadelphia, too, 

Saith the Holy and the True, 

He that holds great David's key 

Firmly shuts, and opens free! 

Naught avail they who propose 

Zion's massy door to close, 

(Vain their idle words who claim 

The toll gate of Jerusalem!) ft 

I will make the lying ones 

That vaunt themselves as Israel's sons, 

Satan's synagogue, full low 

At thy feet to fall, and know 

I have loved thee, and my power 

Shall shield thee from Temptation's hour. 

Behold I come! and speedily!* 

Hold to thy crown with constancy! 

"He that conquereth shall shine 
Polished shaft in fane divine, 
I will write on him my new name, 
My God's, and new Jerusalem 
Coming down from Heaven above,* 
Earnest of the Father's love!" 

lie that hath a hearing ear 
The Spirit's message let him hear! 






c. 760 to 397. 

§ Pentecost, A. D. 33. 



t Isaiah and the prophets heralded the Advent, 
X "Quid Croesi regia Sardis?** — Hor. Epp. 
|| The Atonement, a. r>. 33. 
ir Angels appeared at the Nativity, Temptation, Agony, Resurrection, Ascension. 
ft Sale ol Indulgences, a. d. 1517. 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 



r 3 



*Jno. i,3. 
*Mat. xii, 



li 



eb. 



*Rev. xix, 8. 
*2 Kings vi, 17. 



*Rev. xix, 9. 



SEVENTH MILLENNIUM, FUTURE. 

Laodicea, seventh in turn, 
Hears from the Spirit words that burn, 
Saith the Amen,f faithful and true, 
Source* of God's creation, too, 
(Lord of the restful seventh day)* 
Would that thou wert yea or nay! 
Thou art neither, hot nor cold, 
Thus I spurn thee from my fold! 

Wealth X of all golden sands that roll 
Pays not for poverty of soul, 
Can sharpness of the worldly sight 
Atone for blindness to my light? 
Think you that soft and sumptuous dress 
Can hide the Spirit's nakedness? 
Come, buy my gold, all pure and bright 
Buy at my hand the raiment white,* 
And eyesalve,* that thy poor blind eyes 
May see, the unseen to realize! 
I have stood § at the door — I knock! 
If any hear and ope the lock, 
I will come sup with him, and he, 
A welcome guest, shall sup with me.* 

"He that conquers shall sit down 
With his Master, in His Throne!" 

Whoso hath a hearing ear, 
Let him the Spirit's message hear! 

The churches' seven epistles here recall 
The seven millenniums, from Adam's fall 
On to that day, when, the last victory won, 
Jesus shall place His Saints upon a Throne. 

Chapter- IV. 

In Heaven a door was opened, and the Saint 
Heard a known voice (the same as at the first,) 
Ringing, like trumpet tone, "Anaba hodeV\ 
" Ascend here!" (these the sounds that thrilled bis ear,) 
"And I will shew thee things to come hereafter." 
The voice that spake as "Alpha, Omega" 
Now bids the Seer behold a sight divine. 
See we not symbols clear foreshadowing 
In stormy vista, eighteen hundred years? 
Six periods, each three hundred years, we trace 
Within seven seals, and seven trumpets bounds. 
Spirit of Truth, that lit John's raptured soul! 
Clear our dull vision as we turn his page, 
Teach us to put our shoes from off our feet, 
'Tis holy ground! Cleanse Thou those feet from all 
Life's travel stains, for His dear sake who once 
Washed the disciples' feet! take of the things of Christ 

t See Table of Harmonies. 

j Had St. John used this figure, the neighbourhood of two auriferous streams would 
justify it, the Hermus and the Pactolus. 

" Ubi pinguia culta 

Pactolus que irrigat auro." — Virg. JEn., X, 142. 

§ Greek, ''hesteka," I have been standing. 

I! Note the floating open vowel sounds, like the familiar "Boat ahoy !" and the answers' 



14 THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 

And shew them unto us! We gaze on Heaven! 
*i John i, 5. A Throne was set, and He that sat thereon* 
Was Light! Forth from the Presence flashed 
All the prismatic rajs — the green — the red — 
The jasper and the sardius! A bow 
Gleamed round the Throne, in hue an Emerald. 
Around sat presbyters, in vesture white, 
Twenty and four the tale, with crowns of gold, 
Lightnings and thunderings, voices from the Throne 
Burst forth! (Jehovah's voice is heard 
Between the Spirit and the presbyters.) 
Before the Throne bright burned seven lamps of fire. 
Types of the perfect Holy Spirit ot God! 
A glassy sea spread its calm surface round 
And in the Throne, and round, four living beings f 
Bore the bright attributes of God most High! 
The first, like Lion, shewed His sovereign might, 
Who dares to rouse Him up? The Calf displayed 
His Mercy's bounty — not developed all, 
It tells of milk (and honey) yet to come, 
The human Face spake high Intelligence, 
*Exod. xix, 4. As flying Eagle, safe He bears His own,* 
Deut.xxxii, rp^g manv eyes, and the six wings would shew 
God's Wisdom sees, His Love acts, everywhere! 
"Holy thrice! Lord God Almighty!" 

Those pure beings ceaseless cry, 
Day and night their praise ascending 

Fills high Heaven with melody. 
While that sacred Presbytery 

Worship low before the Throne, 
Cast their blood-bought crowns before Him, 

Saying to the radiant One. 
"Glory, Lord! and honor, power, 

Worthily to Thee are given, 
Of Thy will exist all creatures, J 

Maker Thou of Earth and Heaven!" 

Chapter* T". 

Why weeps the Prophet? "Much I wept," he says; 
Do the warm tears well from o'erflowing heart? 
Have radiant splendors thus unnerved thy frame? 
Not so! he feared lest Disappointment, 
Canker of all earth's joys, should meet him there. 
Weep not! for thou art Jesus' honored guest, 
*Johnxvi,2o. Soon shall thy tears "be turned into joy!"* 
A mighty Angel's voice had cried, full loud, 
"Who can be found worthy to ope the book, 
To loose the seals?" for guarded in the hand 
Of Ilim upon the Throne, a book was held 
Written within, without — seven mighty seals 
Secured, with jealous bond, the two-fold prize. 
The prophet wept! loud tho' the summons rang 
Thro' heaven, thro' earth, none came to loose the seals. 
Lo! at the center of the Throne forth stands 

t These "/.oa" are the four Cherubs of Ezekiel, (See 1st and 10th chapters of Ez.) 
X Greek, "Dia to thelema sou." 



. THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 1 5 

A Lamb, as slain, in power, in vision perfect, 
He takes the volume from the Father's hand. 
Weep not! — joy! joy!f great David's Root prevails! 

Straight uprose new glad pcean, such as ne'er 
Or mortal ear has heard, or poet dreamed; 
Before the Lamb, all the loud tuneful choir 
That gird the Throne fall down, then with sweet harps 
Of praise, with prayers of saints, like incense 
Welling from golden vials, lead the strain, 

"Worthy Thou to take and open 

The bright volume's mystery! 

Thou wast slain ! Thou hast redeemed us, 

We shall reign, on earth, with Thee!" % 
The heavenly hosts, massed in a circling ring, 
Angels on angels, seraphs' love-tuned tongues, 
Thousands of thousands, told ten thousand times, 
With hearty voice, chorus the mighty hymn ! 

"Worthy the Lamb! all power, riches, 

Wisdom, might and honor be 

Unto Him! and glory, blessing, 

Throughout all eternity!" 
Floats the grand anthem far — yet farther still, 
Swells on, till the glad Prophet's raptured ear 
Hears, thro' wide Heaven, and earth, and quivering sea 
All creatures join the universal psalm !§ 

"Blessing, honor, glory, power, 

Be unto our God most High! 

Glory to the Lamb forever! 

All ye His works, praise Him for aye!" 

Cliapter "VI. 

The Lamb received the Book, and as he broke 

A seal, in thunder the first Cherub spoke, 

"Come." || And forth stands, all white, a gallant steed, 

Noble in form, in paces — such the breed 

That drew triumphal chariots thro' old Rome, 

When thousands welcomed a proud conqueror home, 

On him a rider sat, in mien a king, 

The bow his weapon, (light as David's sling!) 

A crown was given him, that beamed afar! 

Conquering and to conquer, he went forth to war! % 



t '"Joy! jov ! forever, my task is done!" — Moore. 

% Greek, "Basileuso-men," or"-usin;" we, or tliey, both future, are the only readings 
known to Griesbach, in Bagster. The Revised Version gives "they reign," with what mean- 
ing, or what authority, I cannot say. 

§ This unrivalled, unapproachable outburst of praise marks how a common objection to 
any investigation of "the times and seasons" is met by Rev. v. The sealed book had been 
kept in the Father's hand (Acts i, 7.) till the Lamb takes it and opens the seals' And this is 
the burthen of that new song, that He was found worthy to open t iem. See also Mark xiii,32. 

|| The Revised Version rightly omits "see." The four C lerubs summon the four horses 
successively. We can see the fitness of this: The lion like C lerub for the lion of the fold of 
Judah, the eagle Cnerub for the fourth horse, bearing death, etc. See Mat. xxiv, 2S. 

IT In the second, third and fourth centuries, the progress of Christianity was indeed 
triumphant. The blood of the martyrs was the seed, (as is said), of Me Church an j champ- 
ions of glowiug zeal and ability replied to the various attacks on her faith and practice, as 
Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian in the second centurv, in the t nrd Origen and the 
historian Eusebius, while in»the fourM century it is enough to mention t le scholar Jerome, 
and the giant Augustine. Very early in the j.th century, Constantine, the emperor, became 
a Christian, thus, perhaps, presenting a crown to the rider of the white horse. Ry the end of 
this period the first two General Coucils had been held, Nice, a. d. 325, and Constantinople, 
A. D. 3S1. 



i6 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 



CENTURIES 2, 3, 4. 

Thus briefly be his story told, 
*Mic. v, ii. His goings* forth have been of old,* 

From Northern Galilee he came,t 
To save, to mourn Jerusalem, 
His legend, "Fear not!" by his side 
*Rev. xxi, 8. None of the "fearful" ones may ride,* 

Not his to fly with Parthian craft, 
Forward he wings Conviction's shaft! 
In the stern conflict that ensues 
This the sole weapon his must use, 
Thus armed, with Victory in his mien, 
Enters the lists the Nazarene! % 

The second seal is opened — springs to view 
A fiery charger, red, of fiery hue, 
Lithely and swiftly must that courser go 
*Zec. vi, 6. 7. That bears a restless rider "to and fro," * 

Whose mission is to take peace from the earth, 
To war, to slay — such is his going forth, 
Persuasion's influence, peaceful arts he'll scorn, 
He bears a sword — he sits, a soldier, born! 

centuries 5, 6, 7. 

May we not the veil displace 

Draped around the warrior's face? 

Does no tr.iit au inkling bring, 

Is he prophet, fiend, or kind? 

List! as he moves along the sand 

Spui on heel, and sword in hand, 

Breathes his steed in nimble flight, 

Reins him in the mimic fight, 

Mark his sabre deftly go, 

Glancing high or cleaving low! 

Seem we not to hear the word, 

His cry! "The Koran or the Sword !"§ 

The third seal opens — next the Seer beheld 
A black horse enter, whose staid rider held 
A pair of scales, the while a heavenly voice 
Proclaims earth's kindly produce, and its price, 
The wheat, the barley, while the oil and wine 
Are guarded, scatheless, by command divine. 
*Zec. vi, 6. 7. This sable steed, this merchant from the north,* 
With peaceful purpose, tranquilly go forth. 

centuries 8, 9, 10. 

How changed the scene! strange weapons these 
To bear thro' wars stern miseries! 
Thou dauntless horseman, do we trace 
In thee the svmbol of a race 



f On the colour of the hors s and the signification, sec Zee. vi, 6. 7. 

X "Thou hast conquered, O thou Galilean !" cried the Apostate Julian, dying miserably 
(a. d. 363) on a Persian battlefield. 

§ About the centre of this period (early in the 7th century), Mahomet founded his reli- 
gion. His followers, the Janissaries, etc., delighted in martial exercises. 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 17 

By Alfred f formed neath northern sky, 

Commerce their pride, and husbandry? 

A race to girdle the round world 

With scales and plow, with flag unfurled 

Of Freedom! With all aits so fair 

That smiling Peace and Plenty bear! 

Tho' arms that steady bear the beam 

Can hold their own where spear points gleam, 

(How Coeur de Lion's axe of steel 

Made Paynim horse and swordsman reel!) 

Teach, Anglo-Saxon! sword must bow 

To Balance, Pruning hook, and Plow. 

The fourth seal yielding in the Lamb's firm hands 

A pale horse next before the gazer stands, 

A ghastly one bestrides the ghastly steed, 

His name is Death, and following his lead, 

Comes Hades! o'er one quarter of the earth 

These are empowered to kill with sword, with dearth, 

With beasts. How dark and dire their aspects lower, 

This southern* warhorse and this grisly Power! *Zec. vi,6. 7. 

centuries 11, 12, 13. 

Mystery wraps thy shrouded brow! 
Awful phantom, who art thou? 
None may trace, beneath that cowl, 
Priest's sly smile, or tyrants' scowl, 
Yet the shrill sad shrieks that rise 
Along thy track, rend thy disguise ! 
Close behind thee martyrs' blood 
Cries for vengeance up to God! 
Bones of thy victims, driven to die 
Thro' Alpine vales, % o'er mountains high, 
Europe in blood seven centuries, § 
Sword, dagger, stake and rack, all these, 
Earth, air, and heaven, all point to thee 
Desolating Papacy !|| 

Passed is the pageant, passed the horsemen four, 

As the seals open, champions come no more, 

'Mid trumpets, thunders, lightnings, and 'mid woes, 

These four contend until the glorious close, 

The Roll, beneath the three succeeding seals, 

A Cry, an Earthquake, and a Pause, reveals. 

f The latter half of the 9th century is the era of Alfred the Great. He may be regarded 
as the founder of the Anglo-Saxon empire and race, which was developing, however, 
throughout this entire period. To Alfred the race are indebted for three typical facts — the 
foundation of a seminary, which afterwards formed the nucleus of Oxford University; the 
first rudiments of a Royal Navy ; and the first translation of the Holy Scriptures, for Britons, 
into their own language. 

X "Avenge, o Lord! thy slaughtered saints." — Milton's Sonnets. 

§ The tenth to the seventeenth. From the days of Pope Sergius III., his son John X., 
and the bellicose John XII. in the first half of the" tenth century, to the wars designed to ex- 
tinguish the Reformation, ending about 1688. 

|| Hildebrand, elected Pcpe 1073, as Gregory VII. "It was he who achieved . . . the per- 
fect system of towering despotism over sovereign princes, which has ever since been the 
guiding principle of his successors."— Bp. Hopkins' Reply to Milner, vol. 1, p. 94. This "Re- 
ply" is an admirable, judicious, and exhaustive work, but too little known. 



l8 THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 

The fifth seal next disclosed a symbol plain, 
Beneath the altar souls of martyrs slain 
For God's own word to which they testified! 
With yearning voice the war worn victors cried, 
"How long, O Lord, most holy and most true! 
Shall our blood unavenged delight the view 
Of those who shed it?" Gently they are told 
White robes close o'er their swelling hearts to fold, 
To rest a little at their Captain's feet, 
Till the bright band's full number be complete, 
Patience! ye hallowed ones — staunch bowmen, f rest! 
Jehovah slumbers not, His time is best! 

centuries 14, 15, 16. 

High, amid the sacred band, J 
Cranmer lifts his cindered hand, 
Latimer, and Ridley too, 
Huss, and Jerome, Anne Ayskew, 
Thousand others who have soared 
Mid leaping flames to meet their Lord. 
Thousands in their blood who lay 
On Bartholomew's fell day; 
Autos da fe and Dragonades§ 
Swelled the number of the shades; 
Councillors of Lateran!|| 
And thou, dark Dominican! 
*Ps.ix,i2. Gen.ix,5. When God for blood makes* inquisition, 
Deut. «x, 18. 19. What wiU be your feH condition? 

CENTURIES 17, 18, 19. 

The Lamb now opens the sixth seal, and lo, 

All nature trembles at the coming woe, 

A mighty earthquake rends the rocks, and soon 

The sun is darkened all — changes the moon 

To blood — the stars fall, showering, to the ground, 

The heavens depart — the hills, the isles around — 

All the mighty ones of earth, 
Men of high and lowly birth, 
Fly to hide them from that face 
They sought not in their day of grace. 

f See under first seal, third line from end. 

I Abp. Cranmer, with Bps. Latimer, Ridley and Hooper, Anne Ayskew [or Askew] with 
over 200 others were burnt during- the short but sharp rei°m of Queen Mary, from 1 ^53 to 
J 558. John Huss, the Reformer or Bohemia, and Jerome of Prague, were condemned and 
handed to the secular power for the same fate by the Council of Constance, 1414. — At the 
massacre of Bartholomew's day, 1572, [the R. C. historian Fleury tells us] the butchery con- 
tinued for 7 days in Paris, and more than 5,000 persons are reported to have perished. Dur- 
ing two months there was nothing to be seen but murders in almost all France. The num- 
bers killed amounted no less than 25,000 persons. 

§ The "Auto da fe" was the rite followed by the Spanish monks as more impressive and 
edifying, and consisted in burning numbers of inquisitive persons in public together. — The 
French Dragonades, or Dragoonings, followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which 
had guaranteed religious liberty in 1598, but was found inconvenient some 87 years later. 

II Two Lateran Councils enjoined the extirpation of heretics, the third L. C. 1179, and 
that of St. John Lateran 1215, the latter adding the rather carnal proviso, that their property 
should be confiscated. This has been applied to Ireland as lately as 1869 by Mr. Gladstone's 
Act.— The order of Preaching Friars, under St. Dominic, was instituted in 1216, by Pope Ho- 
norius, to be "champions of the faith and true lights of the world," in the words of the bull. 
If this energetic order succeeded in stifling the light, in some countries, by the Holy Office of 
the Inquisition, they made amends by throwing with faggot and brand a pretty considerable 
light on things in general, which, as the dying martyr foretold, "shall never be extinguished." 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 19 

"Fall on us! hide us!" is their cry 

To the rocks and mountains high, 

"Shield us from the Lamb's fierce* rod! *Ps. ii, 9. 

Hide us from the wrath of God!" 

Chapter VII. 

Slowly the awful vision fades, 
And a calm scene, in softer shades, 
Steals on — all's hushed! while everywhere, 
Soft Seraph music fills the air! 

"Breathe not,f ye winds! on land, on silvery sea, 

Move not a leaf nor palm, nor scented thorn! 
We charge you, break not the beloved's sleep, 

Light sleeps the bride before her wedding morn!" 

And lo! the Chancellor of Heaven's high courts 

Bearing the signet of the great "I am," 
Cancels the curse — bids the destroyers cease, 

Marshalls and seals the household of the Lamb. 

First come his kinsmen, they of Israel's race, 

Twelve thousand of each loyal tribe are sealed, 
And Judah's* "Lion" takes the foremost rank, *Gen. xlix,o. 

And Joseph's* "goodly bough" soon stands revealed. 22 - 

Last comes Benoni* — last, loved son of thine *Gen. xxxv, 18. 

Mild Rachel! 'neath whose gently cheering smile 
Thy Jacob served, when, for the love he bore, 

"But a few days" * appeared his seven years, toil! *Gen. xxix, 20. 

Listen! bridal strains are stealing 

O'er blue sea and dawning sky! 
Hark! ten thousand voices pealing, 

"Glory to our God'most High!" 

Haste ye, tirewomen! now with blithe devotion 
Deck the bright tresses of the loved one's head, 

Let no ill draping mar the queenly motion 

Of her whose very hairs are numbered! * *Mat. x, 30. 31. 

Hither bring odors, culled on many a mountain 

Lebanon's perfumes,* frankincense and myrrh, *Cant. iv, 14. 

Bring the white* raiment, washed in Calvary's fountain, *Rev. xix, 8. 
Surely no robe so fitly mantles her! 

She has been nurtured for the bright to-morrow, 

Most gently nurtured* at a Father's board, *i Pet. v, 7, 

And, havii.g her soul's sight refined by sorrow, 

She ha& ueen schoolmate of her Heavenly Lord.* *Heb. v, 8. 

Affliction's sea, with its wild troublous thunder 

Never shall vex her more, nor pain come near, 
Around those Heshbon-pools* of loving wonder *Cant. vii, 4. 

Never shall eyelash tremble in a tear! 

Now yields the seventh seal — around, o'er sea, o'er plains, 
O'er Heaven's vast amphitheatre, lo, silence reigns! 

f Greek, "hina me pnee anemos." Who is not reminded of Webbe's sweet glee, "Breathe 
soft, ye winds !" 



20 THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 

Chapter VIII. 

Seven trumpets next prepare their clangorous din,f 
The Book's reversed — scan we the roll within. 

"Thy Kingdom come!" X Before the Throne behold 

An angel bears a censer of bright gold! 

Incense mounts wreathing through the Elysian air, 

Prayers of all saints and times are mingling there, 

Filled with the Altar's fire the censer burns, § 

By angel's hand the answered prayer returns, 

In veiled blessings, voices, thunderings, 

Lightning and earthquake! — thus His reign He brings. 

Seven angels stand, prepared, with ready skill 
To sound the alarm; at the first trumpet blast 
Hail, and fire mixed with blood, rush all around, 
A third of trees, and all green grass is burned. 
A note of havoc! sure some scourge of God! 

CENTURIES 2, 3, 4. 

See, thro' wide Europe, in pitiless rivalry 

Vandal and Goth flood each blood crimsoned vale, 

Ruthless Attilla and Huns' fiery chivalry 

Scorch in the lightning and beat in the hail! 

An angel sounds the second trumpet, lo ! 

A mighty mountain falls into the sea 

All burning — far and wide the astonished depths 

Recoil, and turn their troubled waves to blood! 

centuries 5, 6, 7. 

See we the ruin of mighty Rome's § empire here, 

Fall of a giant ! her fragments alone 
Build up fresh kingdoms, while leaders of nations 

Over red battle fields press to a throne. 

Sounds the third angel, and there straightway fell 
*Rev. i, 20. From heaven a brilliant star,* like burning lamp, 
Fell on a third of the cool streams and founts 
Of gushing waters, turned their rippled waves 
To Wormwood, || (this the bitter meteor's name,) 
While many thirsting ones drank deep and died.' 

t Clangor que tubarum. — vEn. II. 

X This may be taken as formin»' part of the prayers of ;ill saints, as it certainly has done. 

§ The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was Augustulus [d. A. E>. 476). With 
him perished) the last shadow of dominion ; Goths, vandals, Visigoths, Huns, had in this and 
preceding centuries overrun and harried the effete empire to death.— See Gibbon, or the 
school histories, as White's Universal History, for details of this most interrestin»- and event- 
ful period. 

|| See Dcut. xxix, iS. 19, and Prov. v, l. — Many of the Roman excrescences on the "cor- 
pus" of the Catholic- Faith had their origin in this period, not in the Apostolic. I shall note 
hut four, taken from Fleury's Eccl. Hist. Tom. 0. 19. They are of much importance. 

1. Shortly. before the 8th century, a. i). 6S0, we find the first instance of Invocation of 
Saints, and then as a remedy for the plague. The relics of St. Sebastian, brought from Koine, 
were so used, and as the pestilence ceased soon after, superst it ion advanced with speed in the 
worship of the saints and their images. Early in the Sth century the Emperor Leo attempted 
to put down this image worship, exciting tumults thereby, hut in 787 the Second Council of 

Nice decreed in favour of images, after several other councils had decided against them. 

.>. In 765 Auricular Confession was commanded for the first time in the Church by Chro- 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 21 

CEXTURIES 8, 9, IO. 

Fair star of Italy! bright was thy rising, 

Bright as that guiding to Bethlehem's stall! 
Star of west Christendom, light of her first and best,f 

Standing afar, we may grieve o'er thy fall! 

Angel of Latin Church! why the Epistle" 

Fast bound in iron,+ nor shared with the flock? 

Millions all round thee were panting for living streams, 

Wherefore not guide them to drink of the Rock?* * l Cor - x ?4- 

Mother of many folds! mourning the family 

Camping in many tents, § sundered from thee, 
The Court of Jehovah has noted thy wanderings 

Parted us from thee, our Guardian is He ! 

Next the fourth trumpet sounds, a darkening gloom 
Spreads o'er a third of sun and moon, the stars 
Withdraw a third part of their wonted light, 
And day and night, one-third, are darkened through. 
"Woe! woe!" an eagle heralds, "three times woe 
To earth for the three trumpets j^et to sound! 



i >i 



CENTURIES II, 12, 13. 

Through the "dark ages" see Europe in dimness, || 

Eclipse of Ignorance clouds day and night, 
Egyptian and Arab, devotedly vying 

Tend Learning's bright torch, and preserve it alight. 

Chapter IX. 

Now the fifth angel sounds; from heaven a star* *Rev. 1,20. 

Fell to the earth, then with a woe fraught key 

Opens the abyss' pit, and straight arose 

A dense foul smoke, like furnace, darkening all 

The sun and air. Forth from the smoke there came 

degang, Bp. of Metz, for his priests, the penalty for evasion being scourging and imprison- 
ment. The first Council which enjoined this practice on all was that of St. John Lateran, 121;. 

3. The forged decretals, in which all the primitive bishops of Rome, from Clement to 
Sylvester, were made to utter the most extravagant doctrines about the supremacy of Rome, 
etc., were produced in the Sth century. They are largely relied on by Gratian in his work on 
the Canon Law, 12th century. 

4. At the middle of the 9th century, the dogma of transsubstantiation was first taught by 
Paschasius Radbert, and was opposed by John Duns Scotus [Erigena] , an illustrious Irish 
theologian, about 850, and by Ratram, S59. Yet both these authors lived and died in the 
Romish communion. 

f Besides the martyrs of the Catacombs several of the early Fathers laboured or suffered 
at Rome. Enough to mention here Justin Martyr and the giant Augustin. 

X The Epistle to the Romans, for example, or the Epistles of St. Peter, or the Holy Scrip- 
tures generally: the general use of which it has always been the policy of the Papacy to dis- 
courage, although individual scholars of the R. C. Church, and even some Popes have rend- 
ered eminent services to Biblical literature. 

§ The late Ven. Archd. Lee, writing of liturgical revision, warned the Church of Ireland 
against becoming "another of the multitudinous sects with which Christendom is distracted.'" 

|| "In Europe generally, throughout this long space of time [5th to nth century] we per- 
ceive the intellectual darkness, notwithstanding some brief and partial revivals, deepening 
more and more on the whole, as in the natural day the gray of evening passes into the gloom 
of midnight." — Craik's Hist, of Engl. Literature, Introd. On Arabic literature in the middle 
or dark ages the same writer quotes Gibbon, in Dec. and Fall of Rom. Emp., c. Hi. : "The 
royal library of the Fatimites" [sovereigns of Egyptj "consisted of 100,000 manuscripts, ele- 
gantly transcribed and splendidly bound, which were lent without jealousy or avarice to the 
students of Cairo. The Ommiades of Spain had formed a library of 600,000 volumes, 44, in 
the mere catalogues." Dr. Craik adds: "Arabic Spain was the fountain-head of learning in 
Europe." — B. 1, pp. 44. 45. 



11 THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 

Locusts, as scorpions, stinging with their tails; 
Not their's the task to hurt, or to destroy 
Or living herb, or man, but such as, withering, 
Bore not the seal of God upon their brow. 

centuries 14, 15, 16. 

Again falls a bright one! East Christendom yielding 
Her ear to the Tempter, obscures her fair ray, 

Thy angel, Byzantium, heeds not the warning, 
Repent! or thy lamp shall be taken away! 

See, the mailed Tartar swoops down on thy stronghold,! 

Swarming, like locust, o'er Bosphorus' tide, 
On each fierce "believer" the crescented turban 
*See v, 7. 8. Displays the lone Paradise-lock by it's side !* 

Cruel, mild Greek! are the fangs that have seized thee, 
Sting they like scorpions, the false Prophets' sons, 

Weary of life shall their chain-laden captives be 
Torment's the task of these terrible ones! 

centuries 17, 18, 19. 

At the sixth tiumpet blast, the angel hears 
Voice from the altar, bidding him to loose 
The angels four in great Euphrates bound; 
Quick he obeys. A swarming multitude 
Of horsemen countless inundate the scene. 
Against the very hour, day, month, and year, 
These were prepared to slay one-third of men. 

Lo, the four Caliphs, Mahomet's grim champions! 

Each pours on impenitent Europe his horde. 
So plague followed plague, when the stubborn Pharaoh 

Ohce hardened his heart to the word of the Lord. 

No longer the breast plate of iron encircles 
The Mussulman's breast as he faces the foe. 

A mantle of blue smoke, with lightning out-flashing 
In jacinth tint veils them as forward they go! 

From the "sulphurous canopy" fast fly the bullets, 
And corslet would meet their sharp stinging in vain, 

Useless were breastplate when cannon unlimbering 
Deal a fell harvest of death o'er the plain. 

Chapter X. 

Who is the mighty angel that descends 

All draped in cloud? his face, as 'twere the sun, 

Breaks into rainbow tints the wreathing mists, 

And feet, like fire, bear the majestic form. 

Nothing he carries but a little book, 

An open book — was it too, sealed till now? 

He plants his strong right foot upon the sea, 

His left upon the earth, and tells his message 

Loudly, as tho' a lion roared, and straight 

Seven thunders spoke, their imports may not yet 

f Constantinople taken by the Turks, 1453. 



THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 23 

Be told, (the heavenly Voice says that the Seer 
To nations, tongues, must prophesy again.) 

Say, does the mighty angel symbolize 
That merchant f race, to full proportions grown? 
That mist wreathed Power, whose triple nest J, far north, 
Built 'mid the Gulf stream's fertilizing clouds 
Is softly robed in climate not her own? 
Truly "her march is o'er the mountain wave," 
With strong right foot, with fire, she rules the deep! 
Her left, like fiery pillar, treads the land, 
The God of battles goes before her hosts! 
Glowed she not, like the sun, when Chatham's skill 
Steered her 'mid tottering thrones, when Europe all 
Bowed to her prowess? Tell it, Avon's bard! 
"For who lived king but I could dig his grave? 
And who durst smile when Warwick bent his brow?"§ 

Proclaims the angel, with uplifted hand, 
All solemnly, as calling Him to witness, 
Maker of all, that Time shall be no more, 
But when the Seventh Trump begins to sound 
God's mystery shall end, as tell the Prophets — 

Angel of open book! may thy emprise 
Be leally done in the Sixth Trumpet's days! 

The Theologian, John, asked for the book, 
Fount of all pure divine theology, 
Asked and received it, at the angel's hand, 

Like Jeremiah did he eat the word;* *J er -^ v .\. 16 - 

He found it, in his mouth as sweet as honey, ' 1U ' *' 

And having eaten, found his stomach bitter. 

A honey'd medicine* for a sin sick world! * Ps - xix > IO - 

It most disturbs when most effecting good. t# x ' 34~38- 

Be ours the care to inwardly digest, 
The book, as John, as Blessed Mary did, 

She kept His sayings in her heart, and pondered them.* *Luke ii, 51. 
Divines! and would ye, toiling, scale the heights 
Theology affords, and, prescient, thence discern 
Drifting across the plains of human thought 
Error, and sin, and woe? this little book 
Shall clear both eye to see, and nerve to act — 
"Riper and stronger" || shall our Science grow 
Just as we feed upon the Evangele. 
And so shall we, through all Life's bitterness, 
Have skill to comfort those in any trouble 
With that wherewith ourselves are comforted of God.* *2Cor. i, 4. 

Chapter XI. 

And now the angel bids the Prophet rise 
And measure out God's Temple, and the altar, 
The worshippers as well — the outer court 
Is given to Gentiles, and the Holy City 
They shall tread under, forty and two months. 

I See under third seal. 
The rose, thistle, and shamrock flourish in a notedly damp climate ; tria juncta in udo ! 
§ Henry VI. 

|| See Ordination Service, where the importance of pastoral as well as dogmatic theology 
is fully recognized. 



24 THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. 

(When to Jerusalem, with mercies, comes 

The Lord, "a line shall be stretched forth thereon, "f 

Nor shall be wanting line, nor measuring rod, 

Nor chain, nor compass, nor exact theodolite, 

In that day when "the Lord has need of them.") 

An equal time they prophesy, two witnesses, X 

Unburied shall their martyred bodies lie 

In that great city where our Lord was crucified, 

And, after three days and a half, ascend 

To heaven, raised by the quickening Spirit of Life, 

While enemies, astounded, own His hand! 

In the same hour a mighty earthquake rends 

A tenth part of the city; by its fall 

Are slain of men seven thousand, while the rest 

Affrighted all, gave glory unto God. 

Past is the second woe, the third comes quick. 

Hark, the Seventh Trumpet! voices loud in heaven, 
Proclaim the kiogdoms of this world become 
The kingdoms of the Lord, and of His Christ, 
And He shall reign § forever and forever! 

See, dreamers! who would make men Gods by statute, 
Your dreams — Equality, and Brotherhood, and Peace, 
Fulfilled, at last, in Christ's Theocracy! 

Great Hildebrand! thou man before thy time! 
Behold the Despotism Divine, in Christ! 
But He is the Vicegerent, and not thou! 

Ye choirs! hark how the Organist Omniscient 

Resolves the jarring discord of the Sixth 

Into a sweet chord of the Seventh! Him praise! 



f Zee. i, 16. In connection with this the recent explorations and surveys of the Holy 
Land and the adjoining countries are full of interest. 

| Very probably the Eastern and Western Churches; see article in the N. Y. Church 
Review of October, 1SX5. Some writers would identify one of the witnesses with the Wal- 
densian Church, now arranging a union with the free Church of Italy. The futurist school 
of commentators would look for both in the future. It does not affect my argument to which 
end of this period the two witnesses are referred. 

§ On the nature of this reign see the lesser Prophets, especially Zechariah — Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, all dwell, at length, on this joyful tune. 

|[ Perhaps, in labouring after brevity. I have become obscure here. The reference is to 
those doctrinaires of the Socialist school', who propose to elevate men above human infirmity 
by special legislation, particular!} on the interesting subjects of property and marriage. 



NOTE ON REV. X, 4.— The seven thunders I believe to be identical with the seven last 
plagues (xv, l. and xviO — Though directed to seal up those utterances, St. John is told (x,2.) 
that he must prophesy again. "The voices" of the seven thunders would have dislocated the 
narrative of the sixth Trumpet, (already an extended one) though belonging to that period ; 
they are therefore deferred. For the Angel of c. x. is distinguished, (as the plagues of C. xvi. 
are) by marks ol earth, sea, and waters (x, 2.) and of sun, fire and air (x, 1.), and he swears 
by Him who created the same. 

The sixth plague (xvi, 12.) we may see in progress at die present day, in the drying up 

of the Mahometan powers, preparatory to the return of the Israelites to their own land. 

The three unclean spirits (xvi, 13. i |.) are abroad too, plainly enough, but my space for- 
bids further details. 

To the words of the book I have not sought to add. or to take away, but to draw atten 
tjoii, though all may not accept my conclusions. 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 



AND ILLUSTRATING THE 



ALPHA AND OMEGA; 



CREATION, 



A TYPE OF 



The Church's History. 



A SERMON PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



:F:E5ia:E3 10 ceuts. 



